I have a friend at work whose mother is in a wheelchair with rheumatoid arthritis, and I offered to write a post for her to share with her mother in hopes of helping her. I happen to know that the pain of arthritis is reversible with proper nutrition.

I believe that her mother can have a lot less pain and start to have more movement. I know people personally who have reversed arthritis here in St. George. And, I know of many sources rich in nutritional information and testimonials for the reversal of the pain and the disease.

It brings a big tear to my eye rolling down my cheek to realize the pain and suffering that people are going through – especially when there are so many wonderful sources of awesome and helpful nutritional information about this problem – Wow! and so many inspirational stories to tell, where do I start?

Helpful Nutritional Information

Many medical doctors and organizations will usually say there is no-known cause or cure. They might say to eliminate gluten, certain vegetables or to go on the Mediterrannean diet and have more Omega-3’s for some relief. However, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has much more information about how proper nutrition can reverse and prevent arthritis for many people. There have been many medical studies done and nutritional discoveries made. It would be awesome if the rest of the medical world could also explore all the nutritional information out there.

If you go to the PCRM website, you can find an abundance of the research that has already been done. They have come up with a basic 4-week starting plan for arthritic patients, which involves fasting and then four weeks of certain foods and supplements. Then, there is a slow introduction of other foods to determine allergens. Here is their list of foods that can be especially troublesome for many people.

It is not recommended to bring meats, dairy products, or eggs back into your diet. Not only are they major triggers, but they also encourage hormone imbalances that may contribute to joint pain, and also lead to many other health problems.

It is interesting that dairy is listed as the the number one item to avoid. The Arthritis Foundation has also discovered a study on how people with rheumatoid arthritis have more antibodies to dairy and certain foods than non-arthritic people.

Most studies have focused on antibodies (proteins that attack and destroy foreign substances) in the blood, but that focus may have been wrong. Food-related antibodies may show up in the gut – rather than the blood – of people with RA, and that’s just where researchers at the University of Oslo, Norway, looked.

They found that, in test tubes at least, the intestinal fluid of people with RA had higher levels of antibodies to proteins from cow’s milk, cereal, hen’s eggs, codfish and pork than that of people without RA.

There are numerous studies on this link about cases of rheumatoid arthritis where the drastic elimination of dairy brings dramatic elimination of pain. Concentrated protein found in meat and milk are big culprits as found from this study included in Dr. McDougall’s 2004 newsletter.

Dietary factors for the development of inflammatory polyarthritis by Dorothy Pattison in the December 2004 issue ofArthritis & Rheumatism found people with a high consumption of meat and meat products have more than twice the risk of inflammatory arthritis than do people who consume less. High intake of dairy products also meant almost twice the risk, and high total protein intake was associated with three times the risk of inflammatory arthritis. Not surprisingly, less fruit intake also means more arthritis. This was a study of 23,630 people from Norfolk, England.

I believe the link above for PCRM’s Four Week – Anti-Arthritis Plan is a good way to go that doesn’t cost a lot of money. Healthy foods do not have to be expensive. If you buy brown rice and beans, other approved grains, vegetables, and fruits, it really can end up costing less than buying meats, dairy, and convenience foods. They are easy to prepare as shown on the above links.

Inspirational Stories

There are hundreds of stories of success, and I will try to keep this brief, or these stories could go on for pages and pages. I teach a healing diet class for community education at Dixie State College. The people who eliminate all the animal products are the ones who have phenomenal results. And, many natural health organizations have also noticed great results too.

A lady who lives in Hurricane took my class, got excited and tried it. Originally, she had been confined to home in severe pain and could only watch TV and crochet. She got little sleep each night. Within the first month, she was off of pain medications and sleeping through the night. Within the first year, she was out walking a few miles a day and she went on a vacation to visit church historical sites. She was able to become busy helping her husband with his business.

I worked as a walking guide for Dr. Marc Sorenson at National Institute of Fitness in Ivins in 1997. Many people came there from all over the world. They exercised all day and did a vegan, fat-free diet. Here is a quote from a letter he sent me:

We observed that many people with arthritis improved dramatically, often recovering full range of motion after two or three weeks on the program.

Here is one of the many testimonials that can be found at the Hallelujah Acres website. Click on this link here to review many more success stories. On this program, people get their protein and calcium from plant sources and eat an 85% raw diet, which includes daily carrot, beet, and barley grass juices and other nutritional supplements.

Dr. Malkmus, My dad is 64-years old, a diabetic for the past 20-years, and has lumbar stenosis. He has also had rheumatoid arthritis for the past 40-years. Thanks to The Hallelujah Diet, in just 3-days after eliminating all animal source foods, his morning stiffness is gone and he is able to stand erect immediately upon getting out of bed, something he has not been able to do for as long I can remember. His blood sugar has also dropped from 155 to 145 in the same 3-days. He is greatly encouraged by these improvements. I praise God for your great ministry.

John A. McDougall, M.D. has helped hundreds of thousands of people to reverse disease, get off medications, and avoid costly and unnecessary surgery by eating an inexpensive, wholesome, starch-based diet with no animal products. He has a “star mcdougallers” page and here is an excellent recovery story from Joyce Rossi. You can read her whole experience on this link.

…if I did anything else like walk the dogs, ride my bike or any other physical activity I would have an arthritic flare-up. Even if I used scissors…the next 2 days I wouldn’t be able to use my hand!

Now, because of my new way of eating, I am taking 28-mile bike rides, 4-hour kayak trips, taking stairs instead of elevators, going on 4-mile walks just to name a few. These are not once in awhile activities – it seems I am always on the move…

The stories just shared are a small sampling of pain reversal when people totally eliminate or cut way back on the foods that seem to be the major cause – animal products.

Conclusion

What you put in your body has a major effect on your health or lack of it. There are simple, low-cost eating plans like the ones recommended by Dr. McDougall and PCRM above. With a little study, you will find out that plant foods have enough of the calcium and the protein that you need for good health. If you focus on getting your nutrients from the plants instead of the animals, you can eliminate a lot of pain and suffering associated with arthritis.

im also a true believer to eat lots of veges and fruits is a healthy diet because us Pacific Islanders we love eating meat and high protein food eat less meat and high protein will have a good life…your site gave me hope to be strong

When you eliminate the animal foods, your body starts to heal. You can get energy from rice, potatoes, grains, and beans. Then, eat fruits and vegetables for good vitamins and cleansing fiber. Whatever you have starts to reverse; sarcoidosis, arthritis, heart disease, kidney disease, obesity, asthma….it may be a dramatic improvement for the heart and slower improvement for asthma, but it’s a great way to start getting well. Then, when you are completely well, you decide if you want animal products but keep them sparingly.